How To Write Compelling Metaphors (Without Sounding Cliché)

A Blueprint To Bringing New Life To Your Lyrics

This week I'm writing to you from Italy — so I'm taking the opportunity to revisit one of my favorite early issues. This one came out a year ago, when Shaping Song was just getting started. It felt like a good one to bring back for the occasion.

If you've been here from the beginning, I hope it hits you differently the second time around. If you're new, welcome. This is a good place to start.

If you want to write a great song,

you need to learn to write great metaphors.

Metaphor is the lifeblood of a heart-wrenching lyric.

It turns ordinary lines into emotion packed gut punches.

It lets you say something deep while maintaining your poetic mystery.

Unfortunately, most songwriters never master this skill.

There are 3 main reasons for this:

1. They misunderstand what metaphor actually is.

2. They skip the brainstorming phase and rush straight to the writing.

3. They play it safe using clichés instead of seeking out conflicting connections.

But if you take the time to understand the process, making metaphors is a breeze.

Let’s break it down.

First, What Is A Metaphor?

A metaphor compares two different things by stating that one is the other.

“My heart’s a stereo.”

“Your body is a wonderland.”

When it comes to powerful lyrics, metaphor is king.

Not to be confused with it’s cautious step-cousin simile, who suggests we use the words “like” or “as” to soften the blow:

“My heart’s like a stereo...”

“Your body is like a wonderland.”

Similes are cool. But metaphors hit way harder.

They’re more impactful and immersive.

They make the listener feel something deeper without knowing why.

How to Write a Powerful Metaphor in 3 Steps

Step 1: Identify the Emotional Core of Your Idea

Start with the feeling you’re trying to express.

Let’s say your song is about loneliness.

Ask yourself, “What does loneliness feel like?”

List as many characteristics as you can:

• Dark

• Silent

• Heavy

• Empty

• Invisible

Anything goes during this stage.

Don’t filter yourself. This list is just for you.

Whatever your intuition says is probably the right thing.

Use a thesaurus if you want. Tools like Google and Pinterest work too.

Step 2: Ask What Else Has Those Characteristics

Now look at your list and ask: What else feels like that?

Metaphor lives at the intersection of two unrelated things that feel similar.

Your goal here is to find surprising connections.

For example:

• A desert highway.

• An empty house on Main Street.

• The words we never had the chance to say.

Take your time with this phase.

Write down anything that fits, the more unexpected the better.

These are the seeds that will grow into your song garden.

These are metaphors waiting to bring your lyric to life.

Step 3: Put It All Together in a Line

Now take your favorite phrases and build your lyric around them.

Using the list above, we can start like this:

• “Your heart’s a desert highway.”

• “Her kiss was an empty house on Main Street.”

• “Our love was just three words we never had the chance to say.”

Depressing, right?

That’s because metaphor amplifies emotion.

Again, the trick is to zoom out and stay open to surprising connections.

You’re in the right territory when you start to surprise and delight yourself.

Use Conflict for Maximum Impact

Contrast creates surprise.

The most compelling metaphors connect things that seem to have nothing in common.

Let’s take two words:

Hercules and computer.

No obvious connection, right?

Not so fast...

Look closer and we see they do have one thing in common:

Power.

Now take that shared trait and follow it to new possibilities.

Ask yourself, “what else has power?”

Here’s a few options:

• A tornado

• A revolution

• Darth Vader

• The light bulb

• The atomic bomb

• Beethoven’s 5th Symphony

The list goes on…

When we connect these things in fun and interesting ways, we’re swimming in powerful metaphors:

• Darth Vader tornadoed through the Death Star.

• The light bulb was a revolution of science and efficiency.

• The atomic bomb of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony changed music forever.

We got here in 2 simple steps:

1. Find the connecting characteristic

2. Follow that thread to out of the box outcomes.

Experiment With Different Types of Metaphor

You can also experiment with different types of metaphor.

In his book, “Writing Better Lyrics,” Pat Pattison describes 3 main types:

1. Expressed Identity Metaphor

These express an identity between two nouns.

• “x is y” (rain is a gift)

• “The y of x” (the gift of rain)

• “x’s y” (rain’s gift)

2. Qualifying Metaphor

These use adjectives to describe nouns:

• quiet stars

• restless wind

• wandering flame

And adverbs to describe verbs:

• To fall slowly

• To love blindly

• To leave softly

3. Verbal Metaphor

These use verbs out of their ordinary context.

• Thunder rolls

• He swallowed his pride

• Midnight surrenders to the dawn

Each type lets you stretch language in a different way.

Experiment with them all. And most importantly, have fun!

TL;DR: Making Metaphor In Two Questions

Metaphor is the secret sauce of songwriting.

It helps your lyrics:

• resonate on a deeper level

• say more than one thing at a time

• stick in the listener’s mind after the song is over

So next time you’re stuck on a lyric, ask these 2 questions:

What does my idea feel like?

What else has those feelings?

Then let your imagination do the rest.

If you enjoyed reading this, the highest compliment I can think of is if you restacked it or shared it with one person who you think it would help.